Share this:

LIKE George Bush, Hugh Hefner’s three girlfriends are getting ready to move out of the house they’ve lived in since who-remembers-when.

Hefner is busy these days looking for a centerfold for the magazine’s 55th anniversary issue – and it appears likely that some of the finalists will become his new girlfriends sometime next year on the curiously famous series “The Girls Next Door.”

“They’ll be in addition to,” Hefner says of the new women. “They won’t be replacing anyone.”

And how could they?

Hefner, now 82, and his three girlfriends, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson, have become inexorably tied to each other since the show began in the summer of 2005.

But the upcoming season of “Girls” – which began last night – documents the bittersweet end.

“What is true is that the relationships are changing,” Hefner explained over the phone from California. “We’re in a state of transition and you’ll see that reflected on the show this season.”

“We are still devoted to one another, and they are still devoted to me,” he says. “The bond that has developed between the four of us is something that will never go away. These are not passing romantic flirtations. These are deep-rooted relationships.

“We’re going through an exciting time with, I confess, some moments of sheer emotion and moments of some pain.”

The show was originally created to replace the departing Howard Stern show.

But, beyond all expectations, it was women who flocked to “Girls” as it morphed into a sort-of real-life buddy comedy with the three Playmates.

Last night’s episode followed Hef and his buxom babes to Las Vegas to celebrate his birthday. Among the surprises was former Playmate Pam Anderson presenting Hef with a birthday cake while clad only in her birthday suit.

Rumors have swirled that Hef’s main gal, Holly Madison, has been romantically linked to magician Criss Angel while the youngest of his three girlfriends, Kendra Wilkinson, has allegedly been linked to “Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis.

Worried about giving away the end of the show, Hefner claims that’s “not true,” even though Holly has expressed her desire to get married and have children.

“For me, that’s just not in the cards,” he says. “So I’m gonna have to bite the bullet, that relationship is going to be changing.”

For the moment, all three of the women are still living with Hefner at the storied Playboy mansion.

And naturally, a spin-off starring Holly, Bridget and Kendra is in the works.